Sir, – Charlie Talbot (January 29th) says that the Greek word “idiotes” means those “who couldn’t be bothered – the idiots”. What piffle. Not only is this quite incorrect but it is also irresponsible. In ancient Greece, as in today’s speech, “idiot” simply means a private person, someone who places privacy above the public. In Irish, the expression would be “mé féin”. – Yours, etc,